Prefabricated billboard



'March Z8, 1939. I M. RosNER 2,151,872

PREFABRICATED BILLBOARD Filed May-27, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 28, 1939. M. RosNER PREFABRICATED BILLBOARD Filed May 27, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 llllllllll-llllllll Patented Mar. 28, 1939 PREIAllvRIC'ATEDI BILLB CARD Max Rosner, Chicago,

Ill., assignor to General Outdoor Advertising Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application May 27, 1938, Serial No. 210,373

1 Claim.

My invention relates to prefabricated billboards, particularly to the large, wood-frame construction billboards commonly used in outdoor advertising.

It *has been the practice of the art to construct billboards in the field, in order to accommodate the construction to the topography of the site upon which the billboard is to be located. This has necessitated the use of a skilled construction crew, equipped with the various tools and manifold materials of construction required for work in the field.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a prefabricated billboard that can be assembled in the field by a relatively small force of unskilled men, and that is adaptable to wide variations in topography.

Another object of my invention is to provide a prefabricated billboard of unusual strength and rigidity by the use of Teco rings instead of nails.

Another object of my invention is to provide a prefabricated billboard built of stocksize, members of which can readily be dismantled and reassembled in a different location without injury to the members.

Further ,obj ects and advantages of my invention will become apparent upon reading the following description, taken in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:

' Fig. 1 is a front elevation ofmy prefabricated billboard; i

v .Fig-2 is a sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a View of one of the prefabricated billboard supporting frames, in telescoped position, ready for shipping;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken along lines 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 5 5 of Fig. 4.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

From Figures 1 and 2 it may be seen that the face of my billboard is of conventional design. The face is built up of three longitudinal face rails Il), Il, l2, suitably fastened to the upright -posts 20 of the supporting frames. The face of the billboard is framed by suitable border panels I3. The upper and lower face rails, l!) and l2 respectively, carry iill blocks Ui, upon which the poster panel l5 is mounted. The billboard fac-e is then finished with a molding I6, applied against the upper and lower border panels I3, and directly over fill blocks i4.

The billboard face, as was previously mentioned,

(Cl. Lfr0-125) is carried upon posts 20 of the supporting frame, at a sufficient distance above the ground. The rear construction of the signmay be effectively hidden from view by means of a tasteful grill construction ll, applied to posts 20 below the face of thebillboard, as shownin Fig. 2.

The billboard supporting structures of my invention ,consist of a prefabricated supporting frame, shown in telescoped position in Fig. 3, and front and rear anchors 40 and 4l respectively. In a preferred embodiment, these anchors would be heavy timbers, bearing wedges 42 at their lower extremity, which assist in securely holding the anchors in the ground. Predetermined lengths of the anchors extend above ground, in such a relationship that one of the bolt holes M of each front anchor lill is vertically aligned with one of the bolt holes 44 of all of the other front anchors 40. Similarly, one of the bolt holes of each of the rear anchors 4| is aligned with one bolt hole of all oi the other rear anchors.

the anchors, and a proportionately large number of bolt holes above ground, topography of any anticipated irregularity may be compensated for.

The method of fastening the supporting frame members to the anchors and to each other is of great importance to successful use of my prefabricated billboards. Th-e art has customarily used nails, or at best, bolts for this purpose. Nails tend to split and to disgure wood, and to make reuse after dismantling undesirable and even dangerous. 'The use of nails and bolts prevents utilization of the full load bearing capacity of the wood frame members, because the point of fastening is much weaker than the timbers. This is brought about by the fact that the stresses developed at the joint must be carried by the small section of wood next to the nail or bolt. By the use of a type of fastening known as Teco rings, I am enabled to distribute the joint stresses over a larger section of wood, thus utilizing a much greater part of the theoretical strength of my frame members, instead of having recourse to unwieldy timber sizes. As an illustration, one Teco ring of a size preferred for this embodiment of my invention is capable of sustaining a working stress of 2500 pounds, as against four 40- penny nails developing a working stress of only 1000 pounds.

My preferred method of fastening is best shown in Figure 5. The faces of the members to be fastened together are provided with a circular groove 45, whose depth is equal to half the width of the ring 4B. The width of the groove 45 is equal to the thickness of ring 46, but the diameter of the groove is slightly larger than that of the ring, which, being split, can be forced into the groove by expanding it with a tool. A tight fit is thus obtained, although the split ring allows for expansion and contraction of the wood without imposing undue stresses thereon. The members are then clamped together by a bolt 41, passing through bolt-hole 44. It is to be noted that the Teco ring 46 bears all of the shearing stresses, and that the function of the bolt 4l is merely to clamp the members together. It is important that the fastenings are not put too near the ends of the timbers, so that these may not be weakened.

An example Vof the ring method of fastening is to be found in Fig. 4, showing the method of fastening post 20 and diagonal brace 22 to anchor 40. Two rings 46 are used to fasten the three members together and to bear all shearing stresses, the single through bolt 41 serving Amerely to clamp the three members rmly together.

Back brace 24 is fastened in a similar manner to rear anchor 4I, and, of course, to the correct bolt hole 44 in order to have all of the back braces at the same elevation. The other extremity of back brace 24 is fastened to post 20 by another ring and bolt'fastening.

The diagonal brace 22, previously mentioned, is fastened to back brace 24 at a point near its middle, near which point is alsoy fastened horlzontal brace 26, whose other extremity is joined to post, 20.

The resulting billboard supporting frame is a very strong, rigid truss, capable of withstanding the heavy wind-loads bearing against the billboard face.

To further strengthen the billboard'structure, it has been found convenient to tie the various supporting frames together by means of a horizontal and a diagonal sway brace, 28 and 29, respectively.

I shall now describe a method of erecting my billboard. It is assumed that the foundation holes for the anchors have been dug in correct alignment. The front anchors are set first. That front anchor 40 located at the highest point of the topography is set first, at such a depth that the first bolt hole 44 is well above the surface of the ground. The remaining front anchors, which may be at Varying levels, are set such that one of their bolt holes 44 is on a level with the lowest hole of the highest front anchor.

The rear anchors 4| are established in a similar manner, and differences of topography are similarly compensated for. For extreme dilerences in topography, say on steep hillsides, I may, ofcourse, employ back braces 24 of one of several standard lengths, thus making unnecessary extreme compensation by means of the. anchor fastening described.

The anchors 40 and 4I having been established, the supporting frames must now be mounted thereon. These frames are prefabricated and shipped telescoped, as shown in Fig. 3. Shipped in this manner they occupy very little space, and may easily be unfolded, and fastened to the anchors. When this has been accomplished in the manner already described, the bill board face may be mounted thereon in the conventional manner, and the billboard is then ready for decorating.

It is to be emphasized that no fitting need be done in the field, merely locating the anchors, and assembly. All fitting is done at the shop, and all of the joints and fastenings are prefabricated. When the sign is to be dismantled, the operations are correspondingly simple, and inflict no damage on the wooden timbers.

While I have described a specific embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to confine myself thereto, being aware that many modications of a framed structure of the type described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. I seek to protect by United States Letters Patent, and I claim:

A prefabricated billboard supporting structure comprising a billboard supporting post, a back brace, a front anchor, a rear anchor, a plurality of fastening means on each of said anchors adapted to cooperate with the lower extremities of said post and back brace respectively, a horizontal brace, fastening means cooperating with said horizontal brace and said back brace at a point near the middle thereof, fastening means cooperating with the other extremity of said horizontal brace and said post at a point near the middle thereof, a diagonal brace, fastening means cooperating with said diagonal brace and said back brace at a point near the middle thereof, and fastening means cooperating with the other extremity of said diagonal brace, with the lower extremity of said supporting post, and with one of the fastening means of said front anchors.

MAX ROSNER. 

